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RetroBIOS

RealRTCW

RealRTCW emulates Return to Castle Wolfenstein. It reads 6 files, 5 of them required: without a required file it does not start games.

About this profile
Detail Value
Type standalone
Classification Enhanced fork
Source https://github.com/wolfETPlayer/RealRTCW
Version 5.2
Revision wolfETPlayer/RealRTCW@ad529d588e4d
Profiled 2026-10-20
Profile YAML, JSON
Cores rtcw
Systems Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Install this emulator's files

With RetroBat: the installer finds RetroBat and its BIOS folder, then downloads only the files RealRTCW reads there and checks each one.

Open the Start menu. Type PowerShell and open it. Paste the line. Press Enter.

PowerShell
&([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Abdess/retrobios/main/install.ps1))) --emulator realrtcw
Technical notes

Single-player overhaul of Return to Castle Wolfenstein built on the iortcw SP engine. RetroBat installs RealRTCW.x64.exe with its renderer and game module DLLs, which report RealRTCW 5.2, the tag dated the same day as the package build. emulatorlauncher runs it with fs_homepath set to roms/rtcw and fs_game set to the folder of the .rtcw file, and refuses to start unless roms/rtcw/Main holds z_zrealrtcw_ui.pk3, pak0.pk3 and sp_pak1.pk3 to sp_pak4.pk3 (emulatorLauncher Generators/PortsLauncher.Configuration.cs:1362-1420).

BASEGAME is "main" and the Windows home path is RealRTCW\5.1. On Windows the Steam install of RTCW (app 9010) is added as a search path, found through its Main\pak0.pk3. ref: code/qcommon/q_shared.h:58-72, code/sys/sys_win32.c:157-163

The engine stops with a fatal error when main/pak0.pk3 is missing, or present with a checksum other than 1886207346. A demo pak0 under demomain/ (checksum 2985661941) is accepted with a warning and skips the point-release check. Otherwise the four point-release paks are required: a missing one is fatal, a checksum outside the five language tables only prints a warning. ref: code/qcommon/files.c:180-225, code/qcommon/files.c:3782-3889, code/qcommon/files.c:3904-4034

The mod's own assets ship in the RealRTCW 5.2 package as eleven further pk3 archives in main/, which the engine loads in name order like any other pak, without naming or checking them. Their z_ prefixes sort them after the retail paks so their files win. The package also carries realrtcwdefault.cfg, which the engine requires, and autoexec.cfg. ref: code/qcommon/files.c:3241-3248, code/qcommon/files.c:3300-3340, code/qcommon/files.c:4364-4368, code/qcommon/common.c:1939-1955

Files

Section titled “Files”

6 files: 5 required, 1 optional. 13 more files come with the app.

By kind: 19 game data.

File Required Hash
main/pak0.pk3 yes -
main/sp_pak1.pk3 yes -
main/sp_pak2.pk3 yes -
main/sp_pak3.pk3 yes -
main/sp_pak4.pk3 yes -
demomain/pak0.pk3 no -
main/realrtcwdefault.cfg with the app SHA1 94861a3fa255
main/autoexec.cfg with the app SHA1 40f25a7d6434
main/z_realrtcw_localization.pk3 with the app SHA1 382ce141f9e2
main/z_realrtcw_maps.pk3 with the app SHA1 2e5b8d28bf2b
main/z_realrtcw_models.pk3 with the app SHA1 f8bb353657e7
main/z_realrtcw_models_characters.pk3 with the app SHA1 a31a1e5d2d29
main/z_realrtcw_models_weapons.pk3 with the app SHA1 31958b5ca4dd
main/z_realrtcw_sounds.pk3 with the app SHA1 5cc30ffe317f
main/z_realrtcw_textures.pk3 with the app SHA1 5ab5eef819ae
main/z_zperson.pk3 with the app SHA1 b00a3d82bc91
main/z_zrealrtcw_ui.pk3 with the app SHA1 a598a567a62f
main/z_zzrealrtcw_scripts.pk3 with the app SHA1 787d90c2cf7a
main/z_zzzsurvival.pk3 with the app SHA1 c8a6f12b369d

In this collection: 4 in repo, 1 missing and 1 unsourceable.

Game data

Section titled “Game data”
6 files

pak0.pk3 required unsourceable game data

  • RTCW retail base. Checksum 1886207346, fatal when missing or when the checksum differs.
  • Not collectable: retail data the collection does not hold, and a same-named file of another game must not stand in (acknowledged gaps)

sp_pak1.pk3 required missing game data

  • Fatal when missing. One checksum per language (en/fr/gm/it/sp), and a mismatch prints a warning.

sp_pak2.pk3 required in repo game data

  • Fatal when missing.

sp_pak3.pk3 required in repo game data

  • Fatal when missing.

sp_pak4.pk3 required in repo game data

  • Fatal when missing. GOTY edition pak, one checksum (4131017020) for every language.

pak0.pk3 optional in repo game data

Single-player demo

  • Checksum 2985661941. Stands in for main/pak0.pk3 with a warning, and the point-release check is skipped.

Comes with the app

Section titled “Comes with the app”
13 files

realrtcwdefault.cfg comes with the app game data

  • Default bindings and settings. FS_InitFilesystem and FS_Restart stop with a fatal error when it cannot be read, and Com_ExecuteCfg executes it first at startup.

autoexec.cfg comes with the app game data

  • Executed after realrtcwconfig.cfg unless safe mode is on. The 5.2 copy executes xbox.cfg and dlc1.cfg.

z_realrtcw_localization.pk3 comes with the app game data

Mod localization assets

  • Shipped in the RealRTCW 5.2 package, so installed with the mod. Loaded by the pak scan of main/, never named by the code.

z_realrtcw_maps.pk3 comes with the app game data

Mod maps

  • Shipped in the RealRTCW 5.2 package, so installed with the mod. Loaded by the pak scan of main/, never named by the code.

z_realrtcw_models.pk3 comes with the app game data

Mod models

  • Shipped in the RealRTCW 5.2 package, so installed with the mod. Loaded by the pak scan of main/, never named by the code.

z_realrtcw_models_characters.pk3 comes with the app game data

Mod character models

  • Shipped in the RealRTCW 5.2 package, so installed with the mod. Loaded by the pak scan of main/, never named by the code.

z_realrtcw_models_weapons.pk3 comes with the app game data

Mod weapon models

  • Shipped in the RealRTCW 5.2 package, so installed with the mod. Loaded by the pak scan of main/, never named by the code.

z_realrtcw_sounds.pk3 comes with the app game data

Mod sounds

  • Shipped in the RealRTCW 5.2 package, so installed with the mod. Loaded by the pak scan of main/, never named by the code.

z_realrtcw_textures.pk3 comes with the app game data

Mod textures

  • Shipped in the RealRTCW 5.2 package, so installed with the mod. Loaded by the pak scan of main/, never named by the code.

z_zperson.pk3 comes with the app game data

Mod player model overrides

  • Shipped in the RealRTCW 5.2 package, so installed with the mod. Loaded by the pak scan of main/, never named by the code.

z_zrealrtcw_ui.pk3 comes with the app game data

Mod menus and UI assets

  • Shipped in the RealRTCW 5.2 package, so installed with the mod. Loaded by the pak scan of main/, never named by the code.

z_zzrealrtcw_scripts.pk3 comes with the app game data

Mod map scripts

  • Shipped in the RealRTCW 5.2 package, so installed with the mod. Loaded by the pak scan of main/, never named by the code.

z_zzzsurvival.pk3 comes with the app game data

Survival mode assets

  • Shipped in the RealRTCW 5.2 package, so installed with the mod. Loaded by the pak scan of main/, never named by the code.

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”
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Maintained by Abdess on GitHub. Report a problem.

Packs from release v2026.10.10, .

MIT for the tooling and metadata. BIOS and firmware files are third-party system software, preserved for personal backup, archival and interoperability.